Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday said his team would keep sentiments aside while preparing for the three-match ODI series against Pakistan to be held in December.

"As professional cricketers, we are taught not to really get into the emotional side. So, the series has been placed, and we have to get ready for the series. As professional cricketers, we have to be ready for that series also," he told media in Chennai.

Interacting with media at the end of a two-day camp here, Dhoni said as professional cricketers we are supposed to win every game, especially against Pakistan.

"We will be ready for it, because we are not the persons who decide. But now that the series is out, we are supposed to be prepared for it, because our country''s name is at stake. So, as a professional cricketer, that''s what we are supposed to do, go on the field and try to win every game, especially if its against Pakistan," he said.

On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to invite Pakistan for a three-match ODI series in December.

Cricketing ties between India and Pakistan were snapped after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in November 2007, in which the former beat the latter 3-2.

Since then, there has been no bilateral cricket between the two arch-rivals, even though they did face each other in the 2011 World Cup.